Relation Between Humans and Technology, Essay Example

Technological determinism is a theory that the development of both social structures and cultural values driven by the society’s technology. The term is believed to have been invented by an American Sociologist, Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929). Technological momentum is also a theory that states the relationship between the society and technology over a period. It was coined by Thomas P. Hughes a Historian of technology. Hughes believes in having two distinct models to see how technology and society interact, he claims that the new, upcoming technologies are the one that affects the society. These technologies are brought up in ways that they are lasting and irremediable, and the society has to change to be able to survive.

Technology and the human community have drastically grown together given the fact that, technology puts the human community on its toes each and every second. Time is the unifying factor between the social and technological determinism. Social claims that the societies have the power to control how technology will develop and uses are true. When technology is still young, the society has control over it and can easily mould it to fit its suitability. Although, when it has matured, the society will be the one to adjust to accommodate to the new technology. The current technology has increasingly improved the education sector. According to Thomas Edison State College “technology has improved the ability to do research and elevates our knowledge on contemporary problems and extends our ability to address those issues with scope and depth”. Education research has become easier, and fun to do with the new technology, which makes it faster to acquire required materials for use. However, technology cannot work independently it requires knowledge on cultural values to be able to compliment it (Murphie & Potts 19).

In relation to cultural values and history, technology had to be there even in the ancient time where hunting tools, sculptures and jewelry were being shaped and decorated either by curving or painting.

Currently in leadership, technology has demonstrated a great deal of importance in numerous occasions, like in the case of Second World War. Nazi Germany with the use of technology like new rockets and jet planes achieved technological innovations, although he did not change the fate of the war. It would have been different if the innovation had come earlier and would have determined the momentum (Feenberg 2003). Technology has also improved the communication standards, accountability and accessibility. Leaders can be easily reached through the availability of Internet, telephones and fax machines. Therefore, it is imperative for leaders to gain knowledge and understanding of vast technological advancements and how they help in managerial and decision making processes.

Technology and human interaction are things that need to be advocated in institutions and professions because they have changed thinking patterns and mode of presentation. This accommodates the needs and preferences of individuals in the society, which includes the disabled and physically challenged. Technology influence on humanity has affected all sectors in marketing (private, public, off line and or on-line). This intersection has disrupted old models of business, industrial theories and systems of belief underpinning ancient knowledge and concepts (Croteau & Hoynes 305). This has promoted movement comprehension curves and results in the creation of meaning and significance from changes emerging in technology and human interaction.

Technology, on the other hand, can also affect negatively in other cases, for example, in a war, where destructive technology is used by the major technological powers of Soviet Union and United States in the cold war. They could not achieve clear victories because it would destroy everything and nothing would be left to win. In other cases, executive members of a given firm use this media (Croteau & Hoynes 306) in confronting sub-ordinate staff members and harass female counterparts’ sub-ordinate staff members and harass female counterparts sexually. This has affected working conditions negatively and hence, production is hampered.

Civilization and technology work hand in hand. Therefore, in order to achieve some of the civilization, technology has to be in place first. Some historians believe that the higher the technology the influential the civilization will be to the neighboring cultures (Murphie & Potts 21). Technology has made life easier like in the availability of ATM’s, which has made society able to access the banking services faster and conveniently. The changes currently seen in the society is due to the arising technology. For example, in the ancient history, communication used to be in the form of signs (smoke, sounds among others). Unlike today, where people communicate through email thus, negatively affecting the social life of the human community since people rarely meet.

In conclusion, technology has brought both positive and negative effects in the human community. Although it has some negative factors, we cannot do without it because it has become a requirement. In the current world, one cannot live without a mobile phone. Although, having it also have some negative factors like wave radiation, which can affect the human health after using it for long. This has also brought forth the use of other technology to reduce radiation of the wave to the human body to allow him use the mobile phone more. This shows that technology and humanity co-exist with each other.

Works Cited

Croteau, D & Hoynes, W. Media Society: Industries, Images and Audiences. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 2003. Print

Davies, F. Technology and Business Ethics Theory. Business Ethics: A European Review vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 76-80, 2002. Print

Feenberg, A. (2003). What Is Philosophy of Technology? Retrieved 26 April, 2012 from <http://www.sfu.ca/~andrewf/books/What_is_Philosophy_of_Technology.pdf >

Murphie, A and Potts, J. Culture and Technology. London: Palgrave, 2003. Print